Taking to the Offensive: China’s First Type 055 Class Destroyer Equipped with Long Ranged Cruise Missiles for Land Attack

The first of China’s Type 055 Class heavy destroyers, the warship Nanchang, has been fitted with new  long ranged cruise missiles for a land attack role. The class of missiles fitted onto the destroyers have yet to be named, but have been speculated to be a new class of munition which can take advantage of the warship’s powerful sensors with an extreme engagement range. The Type 055 Class is the most heavily armed destroyer in the world with 112 vertical launch cells, and the first of these ships was launched in June 2017. Five warships are currently either in service or being fitted out, with 3-4 of the ships being completed every year alongside a similar number of lighter Type 052D Class destroyers - which are also heavy armed with 64 vertical launch cells.

The Type 055 Class’ armaments are extremely diverse and sophisticated, and include an unrivalled four layered surface to air missile network and a range of anti ship cruise missiles including the YJ-18 and YJ-100. The former retains a range of approximately 550km and can impact targets with precision at Mach 3 speeds, while the latter can strike targets subsonically at ranges exceeding 1000km. The Type 055 Class are compatible with CJ-10 land attack cruise missiles with a range of over 1,500km, although it remains uncertain whether these were the new missiles integrated onto the Nanchang or whether a second class of land attack cruise missile has since been developed for the destroyers.